It cannot be ruled out that Abu Salem shifted base to Portugal at the behest of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). This is a serious matter as the USA and the UK treat Pakistan as “a very important ally” in the international coalition’s war against terrorism. Besides, if this were to prove correct in the times to come it could also mean that a section of the ISI is still hobnobbing with the Al Qaida, says
Rajeev Sharma

THE
saying, "When elephants fight, the grass is bound to get
trampled," is apt in the case of the underworld. Post-September 11
developments have shown how the world has become a tougher place to live
in not just for terrorists but for gangsters, criminals and underworld
dons also. It is not merely Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaida who are
feeling the heat in the wake of the post-9/11 onslaught launched against
terrorism. The comparatively smaller fries are also feeling the
pressure. This is more so in the case of Muslim criminals because the
border line between them and Islamic terrorists often gets blurred.

This is what happened with
Abu Salem also. His steady ascension in the infamous D Company —as
Dawood Ibrahim’s gang is known— did not bother international
terror-busters. The March 12, 1993, the Bombay blasts and the
unravelling of Abu Salem’s role in this carnage made him a household
name, but only in India. The westerners were unaffected. His falling
apart with Dawood and his eventual enmity with the don did not set the
Atlantic Ocean on fire. His getting married to Bollywood moll Monica
Bedi—a few films’ wonder—was inconsequential for the western
sleuths. All these developments have been lapped up by the Indian media,
which gave Abu Salem a larger-than-life image.

But there is something he did which caught the attention of the
"international community", very often a euphemism for the
United States of America.

What should bother the
international community, a euphemism for the USA, is that Abu Salem was
probably working on behalf of Al Qaida in Europe. There are reports that
the Abu Salem had shifted base to Portugal because this European country
has a very low crime rate and, therefore, its crime-detection apparatus
is not vibrant at all. Besides, as a European country it is bound by law
not to deport or extradite any of its citizen/resident in a criminal
case to a country where the alleged criminal faces capital punishment or
life sentence. Salem’s Portuguese lawyer has gone on record saying
that even if the Government of India were to give an assurance to the
Portugese authorities that Salem would be spared capital punishment or
life sentence it would be bad in law as it would mean that the courts
can be influenced by the Indian government.

There are reports that Abu
Salem devised a novel way to get Portuguese residency permit. He married
a Portuguese woman and got Monica Bedi married to a Portuguese man.
Needless to say, the marriages were sham and large amounts of money
exchanged hands for facilitating these marriages. While sources here are
tight-lipped about these reports — obviously they do not want to take
any chances after India’s failed attempt to get Abu Salem extradited
from the UAE last year — it cannot be ruled out that Abu Salem
shifting base to Portugal was at the behest of Pakistan’s Inter
Services Intelligence (ISI). This is a serious matter as the USA and the
UK treat Pakistan as "a very important ally" in the
international coalition’s war against terrorism. Besides, if this were
to prove correct in time to come it could also mean that a section of
the ISI is still hobnobbing with the Al Qaida.

As the mainland security
in America was being tightened after 9/11 and a great number of
restrictions were being put on foreigners, especially those coming from
Pakistan and the Arab world, Abu Salem decided to keep off US shores.
So, he started selling his properties worth millions of dollars at
throwaway prices. Meanwhile, Indian sleuths were keeping in touch with
FBI officials.

Since 9/11, Abu Salem was
one among hundreds of thousands who were to be subjected to random
probe. His distress sale of his properties rang alarm bells for the FBI
and he came under FBI scrutiny. He could have been arrested in the USA
itself had the FBI been vehement about it. But probably they did not
have enough evidence against him. Or probably they were aware of his
growing links with the Al Qaida and they wanted to set up a trap for
their quarry so that they could collect more information.

Abu Salem’s Al Qaida
links have raised eyebrows here and none other than Deputy Prime
Minister L.K. Advani has said that there were reasons to believe that
Abu Salem was working as a conduit for Osama bin Laden. The fact that he
was eventually nabbed in Portugal is itself a wake-up call for the
international coalition’s ongoing war against terrorism, particularly
the bin Laden brand of terrorism. The intelligence community has reasons
to believe that Portugal has already come up on the Al Qaida’s world
map and an Al Qaida module may already be existing there. Such a thing
will be made known if Lisbon were to agree to Abu Salem’s deportation.

Abu Salem owns a business
establishment in the name of "Kings of Car Trading" in Dubai
(telephone numbers 350240 and 350035). He owns a Mercedes car with
registration number Dubai 4781. A case was registered against Salem in
Dubai in the 1990s for which he was arrested and later set free on bail.
He went to Pakistan in mid-1997 for making arrangements for the marriage
of Dawood Ibrahim’s brother, Humayun. Later, he went for Umrah with
his family. Meanwhile, Dawood was able to persuade the Dubai authorities
and the case was withdrawn. Salem returned to Dubai from Karachi in
March, 1998.

Like Chhota Shakeel, Abu
Salem was one of the most trusted lieutenants of Dawood before his split
with the Don. The CBI’s case, among other things, is that during the
Bombay blasts, Salem is supposed to have been the one who took weapons
to Sanjay Dutthouse. Salem is a notorious hitman. His name figures in
the murder of music baron Gulshan Kumar. Vikram Vahi, alias Vicky, who
was the one who actually pressed the trigger on the instructions of
Salem, was himself killed by Salem in Nepal.

Abu Salem was in close
contact with the late Mirza Dilshad Beg, MP of Nepal, and used to direct
him on the telephone to carry out activities of the D company in Nepal.
Salem owns two villas in Dubai, of which one is used as residence and
the other as a guest house. He is also a prominent drug smuggler who
featured in operations of Iqbal Mirchi , having a lucrative network in
the CIS and European countries. Ostensibly, he dealt with second-hand
imported cars in partnership with Anees Ibrahim, brother of Dawood, in
Dubai and recruited hitmen from slums and from amongst poor Muslims and
used them in extortion rackets from businessmen and cinestars. Some were
also entrusted with contract killing missions. His name also cropped up
for making huge demands from Manisha Koirala.

The animosity between Abu
Salem and Anees Ibrahim has increased considerably. Recently, Anees
along with his trusted persons raided the office of a close Abu Salem
accomplice, called Farzan. After catching Farzan, Anees threatened to
kill him and searched his office. A whole lot of original passports were
recovered during this search.

It is understood that
Dawood has 20 passports, Abu Salem 12, Chhota Rajan eight and Chhota
Shakeel six. Why does anybody need several passports? Obvious reason: a
criminal wants his passport to look to be a newly-made one as a
first-time traveller is normally seen as a risk-free traveller.

Monica Bedi was issued
three genuine Indian passports from June , 1999 to August, 2001. Only
her first passport, issued in Mumbai on June 24, 1999, gave her correct
personal details. This passport (number B-0195737) showed her place of
birth as Hoshiarpur (Punjab), date of birth as 18.1.1975 and permanent
address as 19/603/604, Link Road, Behind Tarapur Garden, Oshiwara, Apna
Bazar, Mumbai. It gives her father’s and mother’s names as Prem
Kumar Bedi and Shakuntal Bedi, respectively. This passport, valid until
June 23, 2019, consists of visas of several countries such as the USA,
UK, Switzerland, Canada, Bangladesh and Norway, including resident
permit of the UAE.

Her two other passports,
though genuine, were on the basis of assumed identities. First in the
name of Fauzia Usman and the second in the name of Sana Malik Kamal. One
of these, (number B-5554776), was issued in Bhopal on June 29, 2001, and
the other in Hyderabad on August 6, 2001. The Bhopal passport is the
only one of the three passports which shows Monica as married.
Interestingly, it gives the name of Abu Salem’s close friend Mohammad
Usman Khan as her husband. Khan’s own passport (number B—0002312)
issued from Dubai on December 16, 1999, also gives his wife’s name as
Fauziya Usman. Monica’s Hyderabad passport was issued along with
passport of Abu Salem issued in the name of Ramil Kamil Malik from
Andhra Pradesh.

Abu Salem has an amazing
network of his own henchmen who perform jobs as diverse as keeping a
vigil on the crime branch officers, carrying out hawala transactions,
spotting targets for extortions, clandestine supply of weapons and
collecting intelligence about the activities of top builders and
businessmen so that they can be more effectively coerced into paying up
money to the gangsters. Though Salem has scores of men at his disposal,
at least 14 of his trusted lieutenants find a special mention in a CBI
dossier on the ganglord. Given the secrecy of the case, it is difficult
to say when the following details were updated and what is the current
status of Abu Salem’s accomplices named below:

1. Shahrukh Balsara —
He is very close to Abu Salem and maintains regular contact. A resident
of Bandra West, Mumbai, he is an estate agent whose main job is to pass
information to Salem about the movement of Mumbai Police crime branch
officers, businessmen and builders to assist the gang in its operations.

3. Faiz Ahmed R Sheikh —
In CBI records, this Public Prosecutor happens to be a major investor of
Abu Salem in Mumbai.

4 to 7. Vishwa, Bhaskar,
Mohan and Sanam — They are
the ones who are believed to be looking after the weapons department.
They are the ones holding AK-series assault rifles. They are wanted in
connection with the murder of Babua at Kaka Beer Bar.

8. Nazim —
This man of Bombay Palace is believed to be managing the finance
department for Abu Salem.

9. Salim Khan —
He specialises in spotting targets for extortions and killings.

10. Yusuf Khan alias John
— Absconder in the Ramdas
Naik murder case, he is one of the favourite hitmen of Salem. He holds a
Pakistani passport in the name of Hasan Ali.

11 to 13. Mussamil, Saif
and Afzal — They are Abu
Salem’s strategic weapons. These sharpshooters are residents of
Narendra Park, Naya Nagar, Mira Road, Thane district of Maharashtra.

14. Umar Patil Ghanchi —
A resident of Buhari Mohalla,
Dongri, he is the main contact of Abu Salem.